The BBC was forced to defend the reporter after she was attacked by Jeremy Corbyn supporters after she approached a former shadow cabinet member to ask if he would resign live on the the Daily Politics show.

Joe Haydon, who initially set up the petition calling for the presenter to be removed after her "focussed tirade against the Labour party", said he had decided to pull the petition because it had been hijacked by sexist signatories.

In a statement he said: “When I started my campaign I was trying to raise a serious issue about what I saw as a reporter not being balanced and fair in the way that the news was covered. My petition has since been hijacked by a group of people who absolutely do not share my views.

"I would like to reassure everyone that I am a passionate advocate for equality in all areas, not just gender equality. This petition has precisely zero to do with gender.

"As a result of the sexist trolls who have attempted to derail my petition, I have decided to take it down. “

His petition said that Ms Kuenssberg, as a representative of the BBC, "failed in one of the key tenets of the BBC’s Royal Charter.”